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Girlfriends with Danielle Bean

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6 Toddler Hacks for Weary Moms  

3 Ways to Declutter

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"Be Light" Date Night Series 

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RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS

The View from the Back of the Line
Have you known that person? The one who leaves every person they encounter feeling a little more blessed for having met them? They’re the friend you can count on when nothing is going well. They’re the one who’s always “doing” for others. They’re never gossiping or sniping or complaining.

We wonder how they do it, how they have it in them. We’re a little envious, even if we don’t let ourselves acknowledge it.

That, folks, is what the view is like from the front of the line, gazing at those suckers in the way back and wondering why they’re smiling so much.

We’ve all been at the front of a line and felt no shame about it. We show up early, we put in the time and the legwork, and we “earn” whatever it is we came for — sports tickets, the latest Apple product, whatever. That’s how it works here on Earth, where the fastest win the race, the fittest survive and the first shall be first, always.

It’s exactly why stewardship is such a tall order. Stewardship calls us to play by the rules of another kingdom — one where the richest have the least amount in their bank accounts and the happiest don’t seem to have anything to show for it, at least materially.

If you have a person in your life who always seems happy “doing” for others, it’s because by a boatload of God’s grace, they play by the rules of the other place.

Watch and take notes — and don’t be afraid to join them at the back of the line.
— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS


Can You Walk the Walk?
I’ve met and talked with enough people to feel confident that if you polled 100 fallen-away Catholics about why they didn’t want anything to do with the Church, the term “accountability” would pop up in almost all of their answers.

And to be fair, a lack of accountability isn’t just a Catholic problem. Talking the talk but not walking the walk has been a shortcoming handed down throughout the ages, across all creeds and nationalities.

Loving our neighbor, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, feeding the poor — it all sounds fantastic, especially when we’re the ones saying it. But the doing — well, that’s a different story, isn’t it? We would do well to remember that Christ calls one of his best friends “Satan” when Peter tries to convince Jesus to stray from his destiny.

Have you ever been called Satan by one of your good buddies? I’ll bet it’s not a great feeling. But think about what Peter was doing. He had just said, “You are the Christ.” And now, mere moments later, he’s saying: “Don’t say these things. Don’t say you’re going to suffer. Don’t say you’ll be killed.”

He was telling Christ to squander what the Lord had given him. He was telling him that having faith was fine, but being faithful? It’s just a little too hard. God has a destiny for you, too, and He’s asking you to be open to it. Maybe it’s not in your comfort zone. Maybe you don’t think you can do it.

Lord, give us faith — but help us, also, to do the work.
— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS

Choosing Deafness
If you’re a parent, you know that hearing evaluations are usually done at a child’s annual physical exam starting around age four. The little person gets hoisted up onto the exam table, fitted with a pair of special headphones, and then they need raise their hand when they hear a sound.

I bet all of us parents who have sat through one of these tests with a preschooler — especially a particularly strong-willed one — have experienced a moment where we ask ourselves: I wonder if there’s something wrong with her hearing. Is that why she doesn’t listen to me? ‘Come here, put on your shoes, pick up your toys, finish your carrots, don’t touch that’ — she isn’t being naughty, she just can’t hear it!

And then that moment, for those of us whose kids passed the hearing test with flying colors, comes crashing down into a realization that, yep, they can hear just find. They’re just choosing deafness.

But how can we really get mad when we remember that we do the same thing to God day in and day out? I often wonder if God, sitting in His Heaven, tires of calling to us in the same way young parents tire of calling out unheeded directions to their small children. Help that person. Hear My voice. Open your heart. Give of yourself here. Talk to Me.

What is the call He wishes you to hear today? Can you hear it? Are you listening?
— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS

Give it all Back
Pop culture has given us a unique idea of the term justice. Justice, we often think, is about taking. Taking what’s owed. Taking revenge. Taking what we deserve. This worldview tends to make mincemeat of our Catholic social teachings. Seeking the good of the poor, a call to community and participation, solidarity — on the face of it, in a society where everything must be earned and we are encouraged to hoard for ourselves whatever success we can achieve, these principles look a lot like highway robbery.

But when you remember the presence of an omnipotent, all-loving and all-merciful God, it turns our gunslinging sense of justice on its head. For how does justice inhabit the same universe as a God who is so quick to give and indeed to forgive?

Well, very easily, when we remember Who exactly is the source of every good and perfect thing in this world. There is no law that cannot be traced back to the Word. And the Word saves our souls.

Is that justice? No, that is a gift. It is the reckless, indulgent gift of a father whose love is greater than His anger. What is justice in the Biblical sense?

The answer is simple. Look at your life. See the hours in your day? See your spouse, your kids, your grandkids? See the house they live in, the money in your wallet, the food in your fridge, the breath in your lungs?

Calling it all your own, refusing to share any of it — that’s robbery. Giving it all back to the One who gave it to you — that’s justice.
— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS

Submission as Stewardship.

We aren’t comfortable with the idea of submission. Our society champions equality, and rightly so — but it’s a mistake to think that submission is at odds with equality. To submit ourselves fully, we must first be free. We must first be our own masters. God has granted us that freedom with the salvation He offers. We are no longer the slaves of sin. Now He asks us to be subordinate to one another, in the name of Christ.

What a completely uncomfortable task! What He’s asking is for us to be subordinate to the person who irritates us the most. The person we really can’t stand. The person who doesn’t respect us or appreciate what we have to offer. The person we think we’re smarter than, more talented than. The person we envy.

That’s the real challenge of stewardship, isn’t it? Subordination. Inconveniencing myself by giving of time, of money, of relationship. Putting the needs or wants of another above my own when they haven’t done anything special to earn it.

I invite you to consider the cross — the most radical expression of submission, and of stewardship, that ever existed. If there was ever someone who deserved superiority, isn’t it the God who let Himself be nailed to a tree, who gave so freely of His life, His body, His blood, His everything?

To look at him in his agony is to truly understand the beauty of submission — of laying down what you have for the good of the other.
— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS

Marriage and Family Enrichment from the Diocese of Owensboro - Here you will find Marriage Enrichment Programs such as Grace Marriage, Be Light and other resources for your marriage along with parenting resources.

Focus - Fellowship of Catholic University Students Blog

Diocese of Owensboro Young Adult Facebook Page

Diocese of Owensboro Marriage and Family Life Office  

Busted Halo - Busted Halo is a unique media resource that utilizes a relevant and accessible voice to help young adults understand the Catholic faith, put it into practice in their everyday lives, and share it with others

Chasitity Project Blog

Ascension Presents - Fr. Mike Schmitz videos

Newman Center - Find a Newman Center near you.  Newman Centers are residence and Catholic ministry centers at non-Catholic universities throughout the world. These centers provide pastoral services and ministries to their Catholic communities, in particular to the Roman Catholic student population within universities throughout the world.

National Young Adult Conferences in Steubenville

Murray State University Newman Center

WKU Newman Center

Brescia University Campus Ministry

SEEK a conference by FOCUS -  is an invitation to college students everywhere to explore life’s bigger questions: who we are, where we’re going and what we seek along the journey. As FOCUS’ national conference, SEEK encourages all students to come explore what they truly seek: to learn about the faith, to share in friendship, to be encouraged in their unique vocation — and to experience the love, hope and very real presence of Jesus Christ through His Church.

Hosted for five days every other year, SEEK gathers thousands of college students together from all across the country for a time of prayer, fellowship, engaging talks, inspiring entertainment — and, most importantly, a chance to encounter Christ in a life-changing way.